Ash Rishi, CEO of a U.K.-based digital marketing agency, argues that storytelling can help increase patient engagement. His suggestions? Reveal something personal, take patients on a transformational journey from beginning to end and tap into emotion.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, SocialButterfly will again host the Health Care Social Media Review, the peer reviewed blog carnival focused on health care social media, curating the latest research and resources shared by our fellow colleagues. You’re invited to add your voice to the dialogue.

The theme for issue #41 is visual storytelling:

Discuss recent visual communication research (or needed research) in this area

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Where do you turn for the latest research on the impact and influence of social media?

This edition of the Health Care Social Media Review (HCSM) provides the latest research your fellow colleagues are studying by highlighting social media research and related resources. Whether you’re talking with your stakeholders, board, manager, customer, or colleague, being well-versed in the research equips you with the evidence and theory needed to optimize your impact.

I have yet to attend a social media workshop or presentation where someone doesn’t ask about resources relatesd to social media research. (And thank goodness, right? We need to stay curious.) A number of people want research to help them understand the pros and cons of social media and translate how that knowledge applies to their mission. Here’s what our peers had to share this week:

Journal of New Communications Research: The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) is always a must-watch as they support and fund research. Both Fard Johmar (of Enskeptos) and Craig Lefebvre have participated in SNCR, helping bring health care social media research to bear.

CDC’s Health Communication Digest: Looking for the latest peer-reviewed literature? CDC offers up its Health Communication Digest, highlighting a findings of note, many of which relate to health care social media.

PWC, Comscore, eMarketer and Nielsen A number of organizations offer up research and studies that can help further guide our work. For example, many of you may recall PWC’s report, “Social Media ‘Likes’ Health Care”.

#SMMStandards: If you haven’t bookmarked this group, you’ll want to as the group is working across industries to develop standards in social media measurement .

Laying the Groundwork

This topic for this edition was inspired by some of my own social media research activities. Craig Lefebvre and I recently published a review of the research and evidence for the use of social networking sites (SNS) to improve cardiovascular health in the April 30, 2013 edition of Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. The paper, titled Digital Social Networks and Health, also offers guidance on the potential of creating social health experiences while also proposing a research agenda for better understanding the use of social media in health.

Not shortly thereafter, Damon Centola of MIT published a follow-up article, titled “Social Media and the Science of Health Behavior“, also in Circulation. Centola’s article is a great read for those looking to understand and explore new research areas thanks to the opportunities social media affords. He also shares a case study from the Healthy Lifestyles Network that helps drive home the potential of what can be when you combine the power of social networks with social media–a key theme we share.

Diving In

Here are some additional research nuggets submitted to the review:

The Cancer Conversation Grows and Narrows: Greg Matthews shares insights from The MDigitaLife Social Oncology Project 2013, which tracked more than 16 million cancer-related conversations. He shares: “…increasingly, there isn’t just one cancer conversation – there are distinct and recognizable conversations happening now about dozens of different cancer varieties – each with its own participants, preferred channels, media coverage and physician influencers.” Having done some research into the HIV conversation online, I can share that this statement also applies to the evolved HIV discussion online and makes me wonder what other health topics and diseases are becoming more sophisticated and what that means for our work.

Text4Baby Works, Still: A new report came out finding that the Text4Baby program is beneficial to women and moms. This may also be one reason why the program has expanded its offerings into video. In reviewing digital health solutions, email and/or text reminders over and over are found to be effective in individual pilots and projects. Hopefully, this added research will support similar types of efforts. Email may not be as “sexy” as social media, but it is effective.

Thank you again for your contributions to this edition. Health Care Social Media Review has information about the next edition’s host and instructions on how to submit your posts for review in future editions.

Weekly, Daily, a new social media research report or study is released, competing for our attention and analysis. What are some of the latest research nuggets you’ve found most useful? And what are some of the information sources that help you stay up-to-date as the research works to catch up with practice?

On Wednesday, June 5, SocialButterfly will again host the Health Care Social Media Review, the peer reviewed blog carnival focused on health care social media, curating some of the latest research and resources shared by our fellow colleagues.

To submit your post:

Email a link to your post or posts (no more than two submissions per author) by 5pm (ET) on June 3.

How are you rocking social media in just 30 minutes a day? What’s your best tip?

One of my favorite people, Beth Kanter, asked her Facebook community this very question after coming across the latest infographic offering advice on the topic (link to full infographic). Given the expanding waistline of digital content, conversations and online communities, it’s a question experts continue to assess and re-assess, adjusting their daily/weekly routines to “keep up”. You may have noticed I’m a bit “quieter” these days. This is because, in the past year, one of the greatest items I’ve learned mirrors the advice I offered in response to Beth’s question.

To me, the infographic is exhausting. It’s almost like a snake oil salesman trying to push onto you their “easy-button” answer. Reality: There is no easy button. Here’s what I shared:

“That infographic is exhausting. I say relationships are key as is producing quality work, knowing why you’re doing it and the impact it’s having – and being able to share that with others in a meaningful context they can apply to their own work. That will go much farther than blind social sharing of content. Success is more than 30 minutes a day. It’s a lifelong journey achieved daily when defined right.”

Some others chimed in that automation is a big help, citing tools like IFFT that have relieved their daily consumption-desires of content. Automation though is a dangerous line to cross–so I wouldn’t recommend doing it lightly. IMO. If we have to talk “tools”, I would say not to focus on the tools. And instead, concentrate first on having a healthy information diet, further developing your skills to critically assess information and transform it into knowledge you can apply and share with others.

time? Times is our most valuable commodity. It’s why we don’t go to the doctor, don’t get enough sleep, skip the gym, stress out, or order out. Recognizing this issue, Stanford’s researchers asked: How can we shift people’s perception around how much time is available? The answer–give them awe.

Awe Changes Us

Research found that experiencing awe brings us into the present moment. It makes us think we have more time available, influences our decisions and gives us a boost in life satisfaction. Awe helps us lessen our impatience, gives us a stronger desire to help others and inspires us to partake in experiential good over materials ones.

Champion Design

The study shares two components of awe:

Awe involves perception vastness – the sense one has come upon something immense in size, number, scope, complexity, ability, or social bearing

Awe stimulates a need for accommodation, meaning it alters one’s understanding of the world

The takeaway? Champion design. Organizations that are top-of-mind in terms of inspiring “awe” include: MisFit Wearables, charity : water, Half the Sky, TED, Nike and TWLOHA. Heck, HxD – from its website to the event itself, inspires awe through its powerful design of content, people and presence. Yet many in the public health and social good space still under value design, especially when it comes to resource allocation. Without a champion who can translate its benefits, it’s often the first to get cut or results in an after thought.

When you think of capturing awe, what organizations or causes first come to mind?

Newly announced, the “Social Media for Public Health” Twitter chat will be hosted the second Tuesday of every month at 1pm, EST. The host account, @phsocmed, already has over 50 followers and participants are invited to use the hashtag #SM4PH to chime in. But just how social are our health departments anyway? Research shows we still have a ways to go.

Perhaps not surprising to many of us in public health, results also showed that most social media was used for disseminate information with “very little” interaction with fans and followers. On average, one post a day was the average with (depressingly), over a quarter of Facebook posts being auto-feeds originally posted to a third party, resulting in 86% of the Facebook posts assessed receiving no comments and 45% had no likes.

Benchmark = Starting Point

Previous to this study, no baseline measure of social media adoption and usage was available for state health departments to benchmark their progress. According to the study’s research, “social media use by public health agencies is in the early adoption stage”. SHD are using social media as a channel to distribute information rather than creating conversations and building connections.

Baby Steps

We have social health states, but they have yet to fully put the social into their social media use. Perhaps learning opportunities like the new “Social Media for Public Health” Twitter chat can help bridge the gap.

What’s the biggest opportunity you see for state health departments using social media?

Adobe’s Digital Index reports that websites now get more Web traffic from tablets, than smartphones. The findings come from Adobe’s review of over 100 billion visits to 1000+ websites world-wide, showing 7% of traffic is driven from smartphones, with tablets edging them out at 8%. The reason? While smartphones are more common, adobe found that users preferred tablets for more in-depth Web browsing.

Data Worth Noting

Smartphone users tend to be more task-oriented than tablet users. People use their smartphones while on-the-go, when they are busy and easily distracted. Whereas, tablets might be used for more relaxing and passive behaviors such as reading, watching videos, streaming music, online shopping and Web browsing.

Additional key findings from Adobe’s report include:

Internet users in the U.K. are most likely to surf the Web via a tablet. Whereas, Internet users in Japan are most likely to use a smartphone.

All countries saw tablet traffic double this past year (have you?)

Tablets are ideal for “couch shopping”. Retail websites receive the greatest tablet traffic out of all industries, followed by travel and automotive.

The key line in Adobe’s report prioritizes the customer experience. “Think about it,” Adobe advises. “Why do you choose to use your tablet instead of your phone if you have both? What different expectations do you have? Now, apply that to your customer’s experience and you may have some tweaks to make in your digital strategy and mobile approach.

The Third World Tablet

When it comes to public health however, you might hashtag #firstworldproblems on this discussion. Not everyone has the luxury of owning a smartphone or a tablet, let alone both. But not so fast…

Late last year, DataWind introduced the world’s cheapest tablet at $40, the Aakash 2. Already, the Indian Government has a bulk order of 100,000 in process, with the goal of providing a tablet for every student (eventually). The tablet also debuted at the United Nations:

“We need to do more to help all children and young people make the most of the opportunities provided by information and communications technology – especially all those who are still unconnected from the digital revolution,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told SmartPlanet at the unveiling in November.

Will the tablet become a mightier tool for social good? Time will ultimately tell. But while the fanfare continues on the rise of tablets, it’s important to understand different realities also exist. For example, take 2013 TED Prize Winner Sugata Mitra. Mitroa saw a problem, and inspired, put computers in the walls of slums. In doing so, he discovered an opportunity for change.

So, the real question is, how are you finding ways to expand digital access and find impact?

The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on “The Future of Media” is leading an effort to celebrate and amplify “Creative for Good” projects. With a number of strong collaborators including the National Social Marketing Centre, The Kaiser Family Foundation, Osocio and others, the call for submissions shares:

As much as world change may be about politics or economics, as its heart it’s a creative proposition. It’s about insight, engagement and persuasion. It’s about ideas that are imagined, communicated and delivered in ways that move individuals, communities and whole societies to change the way they think and act. It’s about marketing.

How to Get Involved

Nonprofits, government entities and corporations may submit any “pro-social campaign” that is non-commercial, non-political and that does not advocate for any particular legislation. Some examples are already up on the beta website.

Campaigns eligible can be across the domain of health, safety, education, the environment, community and social justice issues. They should demonstrate a smart strategy, top-notch creative work, impressive results and have been active within the past five years.

Submit now. The deadlie is February 15, 2013. Questions about the submissions and the project as a whole can be forwarded to George Perlov, Project Consultant, at george[@]perlov.net.

Creative for Good

This online initiative will serve as a repository of brillant, inspiring and effective public education campaign case studies worldwide, as well as guide organizations embarking on similar efforts. Already, the Ad Council is one of the initial contributors working to add content. Let’s hope they give social marketing a nod!

What’s in a name? That which we call rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.

“I really think that it is time to rename the movement.” Phillip Kotler told the International Social Marketing Association in an interview celebrating a visionary and how he hopes the industry may advance.

#SocialGood Revels in Gray Mass

SocialButterfly recently refreshed to reflect the industry’s growth and relevancy in the social innovation space (and vice versa). Thus, we’re encouraged by Kotler sharing that he plans to “talk about the interrelations between social marketing, social entrepreneurship, social innovation and other expressions of social activism” at the upcoming World Social Marketing Conference in Toronto, Canada.

Kotler goes on to share that we as social marketers “need to join forces with others who want to create a better world and join our methodologies with their methodologies.” The world is not black and white. The beauty emerges in the gray, the intersections of unsuspecting characters and places.

All About Attitude

Kotler’s interview also reminds us the badge true social marketers wear, and it’s stitched with attitude. Kotler shares that “true social marketers view social marketing comprehensively to include the 4Ps versus the many who develop communications in an effort to influence change.” As I also teach my students, he shares that the difference lies in the attitude and mindset we wear as we approach our work.

How do you feel about the state of the current social marketing movement?